Daily GK Updates - 24th July, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt to Install Solar projects of 40,000 MW by 2022:  The government has set a target for the installation of Rooftop Solar projects of 40,000 MegaWatt by 2022 in the country. The projects include installation of solar panels on the rooftop of houses. It is estimated that 1.5 million units per MegaWatt per year are generated from solar rooftop plants.

Note: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy: Raj Kumar Singh.

2. JATAN: Virtual Museum software for Digitization of Archaeological Museum: JATAN: Virtual Museum software has been developed by Human Centres Design and Computing Group, C-DAC, Pune, Maharashtra for the Digitization of Archaeological Museum. JATAN is used for creating digital collections in various museums and digital archival tools that are used in background for managing National Portal.

Note: Director General of ASI: Usha Sharma.

3. CBDT celebrates Aaykar Diwas 2019: 24 July: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) celebrates the 159th Income Tax Day (Aaykar Diwas) on 24th July. On 24th July 1860, Income Tax was introduced for the first time in India by Sir James Wilson to compensate for the losses incurred by the British regime during the first war of independence against British Rule.

Note: Chairman of CBDT: Pramod Chandra Mody.

4. SC extends the deadline for NRC publication to 31st August: The Supreme Court (SC) bench, comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R F Nariman has extended the deadline for publication of final National Register of Citizens, (NRC) in Assam by a month (from 31st July to 31st August). The Apex Court rejected the pleas seeking permission for 20 per cent sample re-verification. The Centre and the Assam government sought permission for sample re-verification to find out wrongful inclusions and exclusions of persons in the NRC. Both the governments had told the top court earlier that India cannot be the refugee capital of the world and sought an extension of its deadline of July 31st to complete the Assam NRC.

Note: The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens (first prepared in 1951). The 1951 NRC list has been updated for Assam, which has had a longstanding foreigner problem, to remove out illegal migrants and save further inflow.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. New India-UK scheme to fund students from the UK to visit India: A new India-UK bilateral pilot scheme has been launched to support Britain's universities to collaborate with Indian partners to send UK students to India during their studies.The “UKEIRI Mobility Programme: Study in India”, an initiative of Universities UK International (UUKI) and British Council India. It aims to generate up to 200 opportunities for undergraduate students at UK universities to visit India by March 2021. The Study in India programme will support national and institutional-level objectives to increase the levels of outward student mobility from the UK to 13 per cent by 2020. The programme will be funded by the UK and Indian governments as part of Phase 3 of the UK-India Education Research Initiative (UKEIRI) and delivered by the British Council, Universities UK International and EdCIL in India.

2. Mark Esper appointed as Pentagon chief: The U.S. Senate confirmed former soldier Mark Esper as Secretary of Defence. Esper replaces Patrick Shanahan, who led the military in an acting capacity but this week withdrew his name from consideration for a permanent role after allegations of domestic violence. Earlier, Mark Esper served as acting secretary of defence and was the 23rd United States Secretary of the Army from 2017 to 2019.

Note: The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, ‘Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The Pentagon is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

3. Plastic-like Jute material developed in Bangladesh: Scientists in Bangladesh have developed a method to convert Jute fibre into low cost bio-degradable cellulose sheets named "Sonali".   The Eco-friendly jute poly bags made up of Sonali can be used in garments and food packaging work and they are not harmful for human health.

4. Non Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting held in Venezuela: The Non Aligned movement ministerial meeting was held in Caracas, Venezuela.  The ministerial meeting brought together 120 member nations as well as 7 observer countries, 10 multilateral international organisations including the United Nations (UN), and 14 specially invited nations. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddn represented India in the meeting.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Abhay, Tanvi win Bengal Open squash titles: Abhay Singh (Tamil Nadu) and Tanvi Khanna (Asian Games medallist) clinched the men's and women's titles respectively in the sixth Bengal Open squash tournament in Kolkata. Singh defeated top seed Abhishek Pradhan 11-6 11-6 11-4, while Tanvi fought her way past Tamil Nadu's Aparajitha Balamurukan 11-7 11-6 5-11 13-11. Earlier, the under-15 category witnessed a thrilling battle with fifth-seeded Tamil Nadu girl Shameena Riaz upsetting top seed Soniya Bajaj from Maharashtra 9-11 11-7 11-5 7-11 11-8. Daughter of former India hockey captain Mohammed Riaz, Shameena recently won the U-15 title at the Goregaon Sports Club All India Squash Open in Mumbai. 

Note: President of Squash Rackets Federation of India: Debendranath Sarangi.

2. Ehsan Mani named chief of ICC committee: Pakistan Cricket Board’s chairman Ehsan Mani has been appointed as the head of the ICC’s influential Finance and Commercial Affairs committee. The F&CA assists the ICC  in discharging its responsibilities in relation to all financial and commercial matters.

Note: Chairman of ICC : Shashank Manohar; Headquarter of ICC: Dubai, UAE.

3. Dejan Papic appointed as India's table tennis coach: The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has appointed the Canadian Dejan Papic as the head coach of the Indian table tennis team. He has signed a one-year contract and will be the in charge through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Note: President of TTFI: Dushyant Chautala.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI names Kanungo to run monetary policy portfolio: Reserve Bank of India has assigned deputy governor B.P. Kanungo to run the monetary policy portfolio and forecasting department. After the exit of Viral Acharya, Kanungo has become the 6th member of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee. Now, all the three deputy governors N S Vishwanathan, B P Kanungo and M K Jain have been made responsible for 12 departments each.

Note: Governor of RBI: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

           

2. NPCI ties up with JCB for global RuPay card: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and JCB International have launched RuPay JCB Global Cards. RuPay JCB Global Cards can be used at all point of sales terminals which accept RuPay cards and terminals outside India which accept JCB.

None: CEO of NPCI:  Dilip Asbe; Established in: 2008; CEO of JCB International: Takao Kawanishi; Established in: 1961.

3. IMF lowers India’s growth outlook for FY20: The International Monetary Fund has lowered its annual growth forecast for India from 7.3% to 7% in financial year 2019-20. The IMF's stance reflects a weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand.

Note: Acting MD of IMF: David Lipton; Headquarters: Washington DC, USA.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Reliance becomes highest-ranked Indian firm on Fortune Global 500 list: Mukesh Ambani-led 'Reliance Industries' has jumped 42 places to become the highest-ranking Indian firm on the Fortune Global 500 list. US giant Walmart continues to top the Fortune 500 list followed by Chinese state-owned oil and gas company Sinopec Group, which moved one rank up. Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell was ranked third followed by China National Petroleum and State Grid. This year, ranked 106, Reliance Industries (RIL) has replaced IOC (117) as the top-ranked Indian company on the Global 500 list. RIL's revenue soared 32.1 per cent from USD 62.3 billion in 2018 to USD 82.3 billion in 2019.    ONGC has moved up 37 places to 160th rank on the global list, while SBI lost 20 places to 236th rank.

DEFENCE

1. India to launch first-ever space war exercise 'IndSpaceEx': The Indian armed forces are all set to conduct the country’s first-ever simulated space warfare exercise “IndSpaceEx”.  This excercise will lead to an assessment of the “imminent threats” in the expanse beyond earth and the drafting of a joint space doctrine for futuristic battles. Ministry of Defence will organize exercise with all three forces together.

Note: Minister of Defence: Raj Nath Singh.

OBITUARIES 

1. Former Chinese premier Li Peng passes away: Former Chinese premier and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Li Peng passed away. He was also known as the "Butcher of Beijing" for his role in the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Note: China Capital: Beijing; Currency: Renminbi.